Fuel Economy

[swng]

See the list of top ten least expensive cars, according to Forbesautos.com, as seen through this link:
http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/to...all-2007.html?
Click the slideshow in the article. The Yaris is ranked number one mainly because of its lowest five-year ownership cost.
I guess that the Yaris' low fuel consumption rate has contributed significantly to such a low cost. Its lower fuel demand is mentioned in the article.

[bogey mo]

ou are getting ran off the road by a semi, or a beatup hooptie that just don't care

HAHAHA yeah man...and not to pick on bailout..but u it does show you the difference in driving situations in different areas...he stated hes never had to apply speed to avoid danger around him cause hes conscious about whats going on at all times..but the plain fact is hes conscious of a one lane hwy...where as in TO u have to drive for 4 lanes...I agree with him you have to drive for others..but the way he drives is a joke!!! your car is fuel efficient...u've done ur part...

[Pavel Olavich]

Originally Posted by bogey mo

your car is fuel efficient...u've done ur part...

Completely false....just because you have a Yaris does not mean one automatically gets great MPG...don't fool yourself....I can drive like a maniac and get just 22 MPG from my Yaris or drive normal and get 36 MPG, or drive for best MPG and get 44.5 MPG....

[bogey mo]

please...thanks for stating the obvious..i was just eluding to the fact that I think bailout tries extremely hard to conserve gas in a manner that i wouldn't even constitute as driving..constant meddling and complete over attention to detail..but to each his own right...as long as he stays glued to that right lane and isnt one of those goofs who merges into the highway at 80 km then hes alright in my books...there will always be a left lane for me to pass him in

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by bogey mo

please...thanks for stating the obvious..i was just eluding to the fact that I think bailout tries extremely hard to conserve gas in a manner that i wouldn't even constitute as driving..constant meddling and complete over attention to detail..but to each his own right...as long as he stays glued to that right lane and isnt one of those goofs who merges into the highway at 80 km then hes alright in my books...there will always be a left lane for me to pass him in

In my experience, the slowest you can drive on the 400 series highways and stay out of fairly constant danger is 100 km/h or the speed of the transport in front of you.

I stick to the right lane and manage 100 for my entire commute from Markham to Mississauga road which is 50 kms on the 401. Sometimes there is a lot of pressure by tailgaters, but that just makes me slow down more until they pass.

Bailout talks about maintaining speed limit and that's what I'm able to do on the 400 series highways as well, but it isn't easy or perfectly safe to do so. I do believe it's safer to drive slower on these highways versus faster though and I have tried both ways of commuting. I also get far few rock chips going slower

There's no way in hell you could go 80 on the 400 series highways without getting killed, but that's not what Bailout is doing, he's going speed limit for the small roads he drives on. His situation is a far cry from the sometimes 6 lane wide 401 etc and not really comparible on any level except for the fact that you can go and should go no more than speed limit on any road.

[petesimac]

Okay, so with my latest tank, with 95% city driving, AC on, perhaps, 1/4 of the time, usually with 3 people in the car, I got 33.5 mpg. Better than I thought I'd get this time around; close enough to the 34 mpg promised that I'm more than pleased. How I long for the open road again though and the
45+ mpg!!!

[cute_lil_yaris]

I average about 39 mpg, but 90% of my driving consists of highway miles plus conservative driving. Now, if i drive like a speedracer going 90-100 mph with the AC blowing...then its more like 35 mpg. LOL. But no complaints here! My 96 celica only gave me 25 mpg...groan... Definitely much better off now!

[enkid]

More things I've noticed using the SGII and different driving styles and road conditions:

After coasting down the same hills in neutral hundreds of times over different weather conditions, I can state with confidence, that the temperature's effect on the rolling resistance of the tires significantly impacts fuel economy.

While it's common knowledge that cold weather is bad for FE, I've come to the conclusion its mostly due to: 1. Increased warm up time, especially when the temp is below freezing; proportion of warm-up time as part of trip time is larger. 2. Rolling resistance is the greatest of all temperature FE effects after the motor is fully warm.

Where to go from here:

Research tire rolling resistance?
I've never seen it listed as a parameter, but I suspect
1. High performance tires are "stickier", and therefore worse for FE.
2. Narrower tires and tires with a smaller contact surface (perhaps even snow tires) are better for FE.
3. Are southern/tropical region OEM tires different from temperate or arctic region OEM tires? If so, is it due to a need for different temperature ranges? If so, does this include rolling resistance performance? Do ratings standards organizations mandate that the OEM state which tires are going to be used in different markets/regions, etc?
4. Research optimum tire pressure for temperature & FE. Cruising with under inflated tires is definitely worse, but what is optimum? Cold air decreases air pressure and stiffens rubber, rolling resistance creates heat, heat increases air pressure, higher pressure decreases rolling resistance, etc

Possible mods - My first thought was to redirect the air intake to pull air from inside the cabin, but lowering the cabin pressure might create a carbon monoxide hazard. An alternative might be to cut a hole in the air intake duct between the inlet and the filter so it gets more air from behind the radiator & duct-tape the hole in Summer. I suspect this won't decrease the warm-up time by much (if at all) because hot water doesn't flow through the radiator till the motor is warm. Probably the best thing for cold weather FE would be a block heater to decrease warm up time...and perhaps narrower tires.

Scangauge Calibration

Speed & Miles driven - My SG registers about 1/6 of a percent longer distance traveled per tank than the ODO. Adjustment unnecessary.
Fill tank - correction adjustment ranges from -3% to -6%.

Fairly aggressive hypermiling, but without shutting the engine off while moving, coasting at idle instead of DFCO tends to make the SG say the FE is better than actual, and a -6% fill adjustment corrects it to within a percent.

Less aggressive hypermile, and increased use of DFCO, SG still says FE is better than actual, but less so, and -3% fill adjustment corrects it to within a percent. This is my usual mode.

Driving aggressively in commuter traffic, idling at stops, hundred mile trips in the rain, etc, and SG fill adjustment will want to be around zero.

Last winter, the SG fill adjustment was consistently around -7 percent, and my FE was around 40-43 MPG depending on how cold it was. Since then the SG fill adjustment has drifted to around -3%. I don't know if the difference is because of temperature, motor break-in or both.

32560 Miles, 693 gallons, one year (4 seasons) average FE 46.98 MPG, 90% highway, manual sedan, no mods, Goodyear Eagle GT OEM tires, Rhode Island (sea level).

[bogey mo]

wow..thanks for the info!!

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by enkid

While it's common knowledge that cold weather is bad for FE

I know what you mean. With a lot of early morning driving in weather which is about 15 degrees colder than it's been, seems like I'm taking at least a 5% hit.

[Ferret_san]

Bahhh.... Drive it like you stole it.

[bogey mo]

hahahahah wordson!!

[Bredayaris]

My average is now 46 MPG (5.1 l/100km), i'm going to try to get 52.2 MPG (4.5 l/100km) wich are the fabric standards. But that that's going to be difficult because i have to drive some 10% in cities with a lot of traffic lights and the rest (90%) is highway driving.

[swng]

Very enviable! Bredayaris, you are almost hypermiling without hypermiling because diesel engines are wonderfully fuel economical.

[Bredayaris]

Thanks swng!

I'm now driving with normal speeds and acelleration, ''going with the flow'' and my mileage is getting better:

47 MPG , 5 l/100km

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by Bredayaris

Thanks swng!

I'm now driving with normal speeds and acelleration, ''going with the flow'' and my mileage is getting better:

47 MPG , 5 l/100km

That's awesome work. I think hypermilling should just be called thinking while you drive!

[ECHOKnight2000]

Originally Posted by Bredayaris

Thanks swng!

I'm now driving with normal speeds and acelleration, ''going with the flow'' and my mileage is getting better:

47 MPG , 5 l/100km

That's great mileage, lucky you have a diesel...I'm sure you can get in the mid-50's? I've gotten 53mpg with my gas engine which is amazing in itself.

[swng]

Follow up to Post # 1609:

Fuel Cost
C$37.39

Distance travelled
552.6 km
343.39 miles

Fuel Amount
36.62 litres
9.68 US gallons
8.06 Imperial gallons

Cost of Fuel
$1.02 per litre
$3.86 per US gallon
$4.64 per Imperial gallon

Fuel Economy
6.63
litres per 100 km
35.49
miles per US gallon
42.63
miles per Imperial gallon

Mileage Costs
6.7662
¢ents per km
10.89
¢ents per mile

Car was used as and driven like a family car and was driven by wife 95% of the time during the period covered. Regular fuel used. Tire pressure @ 34 PSI all around. Normal maintenance schedule followed. City/highway = about 40/60. Lots of road works. Load = 2 people with groceries and/or belongings, plus or minus. AC on about half of the time. Other factors basically unchanged.